Is it time to lose the sunroof?
I have an older (1978) Mercedes 240d that had a tree fall on it several years ago. I am taking it in to have leaky window gaskets replaced and a wrinkle in the roof repaired. Since I rarely used the sunroof in the past, and haven’t used it for a couple of years since the tree, this would be a good time to delete the opening and do away with another potential leak. I am on the fence. On the one hand, I do have the parts to repair and replace all the gaskets etc. for the sunroof. On the other hand, there is no guarantee that replacing all that will eliminate any leakage. The only downside that I can see is that from the inside it will be obvious that there is a sunroof installed, but it will be invisible from the outside. What do you guys think?
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I like my sunroof and rarely open it but love the extra natural light. Whenever the shade is pulled closed I feel claustrophobic.
I disagree that the patch (the closed area on the roof) will be invisible from the outside. Won’t there be a seam of some sort?
My last car had a sunroof/moonroof, and I always enjoyed it. But, I bought a new 2015 Toyota Prius a couple of months ago, and it would have cost an additional $4,500 to have the same thing (a slight model upgrade plus the optional feature). I quickly realized that, for so much extra money, my life would be just fine without a hole in the roof of my car. So far, I really don’t miss it at all.
If you’re thinking about spending a significant amount to fix the sunroof in a 1978 car, and if you’re not even certain that the repairs will be effective, you might consider getting rid of the hole and all that it entails.
You’d be better off, IMHO, to delete the sunroof, and any leaks that might come with it, and have a new headliner made and installed to hide the repair from the inside.
If you’re not using it, why not delete it?
I had a 76 Camaro with a sunroof. When it started leaking I just caulked the heck out of it with clear caulk. Took care of all the leaks.
I would go with @Adirondackwannabe – caulk the thing and be done with it. Fast and cheap! The last time I had a sunroof repaired, it cost almost $1000 and lasted only a year.
Essentially we will be welding the panel shut and making the roof smooth. The man who will be doing the glass seems very confident it will be no problems. Then, for the winter we will use Plasti-Dip to paint the roof preparing for a full paint in the spring. The Peanut Butter Special will be a stylin’ machine then!
You removing the headliner and wires while you are welding? ?
Just thinking we will hear about a car fire cause by the welding.
I don’t know. When I had it open last there is a pretty good amount of clearance between the sheetmetal skin and the headliner. Yes, a car fire would definitely be a bad thing.
@Tropical_Willie Reputable body shops weld on cars all the time without causing fires. And there aren’t that many wires in the roof anyway, so not a problem.
Keep it! I like sunroofs too!
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